Goog's Track

Thursday, June 15, 2000

Goog and Jenny Denton used to sit on their veranda looking at the scrub and wondering what was beyond it. So they decided to find out.

Three-and-a-half years and 130 sand dunes (some are 25m high) later, their 150km track was open for business. Goog died a few years later, but he has been immortalised in sand, scrub and song.

Phil Taylor from Sea-Dune-Ah Tours knew Goog, and he will take you along the track — or anywhere you want to go — and tell you the history as well as show you things of interest.

You can tackle Goog's Track alone, but it is definitely not for inexperienced four-wheel-drivers. You are advised to stay on the main track, take plenty of food, water and fuel with you and check current conditions with the National Parks and Wildlife Service in Ceduna. Mobile phones do not work in the area and you should have your UHF radio turned on at all times.

The track is good for an adventurous day trip and ideal for a two- to three-day camping trip. It will be one of the best places in the world to see the lunar eclipse in December 2002, and it is expected the track will be busier than it has even been at that time.

It is recommended that you travel from Ceduna in the south to Tarcoola in the north because the winds are safer. About a third of the way in, you will come across Goog's Lake, which is a dry salt lake 15km long and one kilometre wide in some places. Goog's Lake and the Black Oaks are excellent places to camp.

Location

Ceduna, on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula.

Cost

Park permits cost $5 per night per vehicle.
Sea-Dune-Ah Tours
Fishing trips start at $45 per person for half a day. A beach/wildlife tour is $150 per person per day. This includes accommodation, meals, transport, bait and fishing gear. You can choose whether you go along Goog's Track or another spot in the area.
Please note prices are valid at time of transmission.